Why does my stomach feel hard when I walk during late pregnancy?

Pregnant women are prone to having a tight stomach in the late stages of pregnancy, and this phenomenon is particularly obvious when taking a walk. Many of these situations are caused by false labor. When the pain occurs, it is a bit like dysmenorrhea and does not last long. This is caused by the pregnant mother walking too much or being overworked. In addition, there are several other reasons for a hard stomach when walking in late pregnancy:

1. Infection and others

The causes of premature birth are often infections, including genital tract infections and amnionitis. However, urinary tract infection and intestinal infection can also induce the above symptoms. In addition, some pregnant women may experience tightness, hardness, and pain in the lower abdomen when the fetus moves frequently in the abdomen. The way to prevent this symptom is to rest in the left side lying position, which can increase the blood flow to the uterus and placenta, prevent or reduce spontaneous uterine contractions, refrain from sexual intercourse in the late pregnancy, prevent urinary tract infection, and smokers need to quit smoking.

2. Premature birth

This refers to birth before the full 37th week of pregnancy. Pregnant women generally experience uterine contractions, which manifest as tightness, hardness, and abdominal pain in the lower abdomen. If there are 2 to 3 uterine contractions every 10 minutes, lasting more than 30 seconds, or accompanied by bloody vaginal discharge, it is a threat of premature labor and you need to go to the hospital for examination and observation. If the cervix dilates progressively during the observation process and the cervix is ​​dilated to more than 2 cm, premature birth will be inevitable.

3. False labor in late pregnancy

These are irregular, weak, painless uterine contractions that occur during pregnancy. Its characteristic is that it often appears frequently at night and disappears the next morning. This is different from the labor pains in late pregnancy, which are characterized by short, regular, and gradual abdominal pain. Most pregnant women may not feel any discomfort, but some pregnant women who are sensitive to pain may mistake normal uterine contractions for labor contractions. It is estimated that about 1/3 of the so-called threatened premature labor cases are not real labor, but false labor.

4. It may also be that labor pains are coming

If you feel regular hardening of your abdomen near delivery (within 3 weeks before the due date, i.e., entering full-term pregnancy), and this happens repeatedly, it probably means that real labor (delivery) is approaching.

The easiest way to distinguish this kind of abdominal tightening and labor pain is to use the "151 rule", which is: if the uterine contractions last at least 1 minute each, with an interval of 5 minutes or less, and this situation lasts for at least 1 hour, then this is the labor pain before delivery, and you should go to the hospital immediately.

The above is a summary of the reasons why the belly feels hard when walking in the late pregnancy. If expectant mothers experience such a situation, they can compare it with the above reasons. If premature birth occurs, remember to go to the hospital for examination in time. In the late pregnancy, you can do fetal heart monitoring to prevent irregular uterine contractions, so that you can spend the late pregnancy with more peace of mind and welcome the new life.